New Rochelle Public Library Foundation Guardian Gala Set for May 9th

The New Rochelle Public Library Foundation will hold its Guardian Gala on Thursday, May 9th at the Greentree Country Club in New Rochelle. The evening will include cocktails, dinner, dancing and a silent auction; CBS TV reporter Tony Aiello will serve as the evening’s emcee. Tickets cost $185 per person and are available at http://weblink.donorperfect.com/GuardianGala2024

or on the NRPLF website at www.nrplfoundation.org.

NRPLF’s Guardian Award will be presented to three champions in the fight against book banning: Best-selling authors Jacqueline Woodson and Emma Straub, and publisher Nancy Paulsen, President of Nancy Paulsen Books, Penguin Inc.

“The NRPL Foundation is committed to drawing attention to the dangerous growth in book banning across America and the harms of censorship,” says President Chris Selin. According to PEN America, the national organization of writing professionals, “Books are under profound attack in the United States. They are disappearing from library shelves, being challenged in droves, being decreed off limits by school boards, legislators, and prison authorities.” The American Library Association reports that there has been a record surge of challenges in public libraries across America: In 2022 the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom documented 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources, the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began compiling data about censorship in libraries more than 20 years ago.

The Guardian Award was created to recognize individuals whose careers and lifetime accomplishments exemplify the mission of public libraries: Providing free and open access to information and to a broad variety of ideas and viewpoints. Journalists Fareed Zakaria and Tom Goldstone were the first recipients in 2019.

Also being honored on May 9th are: Chris Selin, President of the New Rochelle Public Library Foundation for the past 9 years as well as a former member of City Council; Tom Geoffino, Director of the New Rochelle Public Library for the past 18 years who will be retiring in 2024; and Business Honorees Donna and Bob Young, who head up the Young Companies and the JRY Foundation.

The New Rochelle Public Library Foundation (NRPLF) was established in 1994 to support the Library and all that it provides to the city’s diverse community of approximately 80,000 residents. A nonprofit organization comprised entirely of volunteer members, the Foundation raises resources and provides advocacy to keep this vital institution vibrant, up-to-date, and able to serve the needs of the citizens of New Rochelle. For more information visit the NRPL website at www.nrplfoundation.org.

About the Honorees

Jacqueline Woodson (jacquelinewoodson.com) is the author of more than thirty books for young people and adults including Another Brooklyn, Red At The Bone and The Day You Begin. She received a 2023 Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, a 2023 E. B. White Award, a 2020 MacArthur Fellowship, the 2020 Hans Christian Andersen Award, the 2018 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, and the 2018 Children’s Literature Legacy Award, and was the 2018–2019 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Her New York Times bestselling memoir, Brown Girl Dreaming, won the National Book Award, the Coretta Scott King Award, a Newbery Honor, and the NAACP Image Award. Her books for young readers include Coretta Scott King Award and NAACP Image Award winner Before the Ever After, New York Times bestsellers The Day You Begin and Harbor Me, Newbery Honor winners Feathers, Show Way, and After Tupac and D Foster, and Each Kindness. In 2018, she founded BALDWIN FOR THE ARTS (https://baldwinforthearts.org), a residency serving writers, composers, interdisciplinary, and visual artists of the Global Majority. Her most recent novel, Remember Us, is set in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn.

Emma Straub is the New York Times-bestselling author of six books for adults: the novels This Time Tomorrow, The Vacationers, Modern Lovers, Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures, and the short story collection Other People We Married. She is also the author of the picture books Very Good Hats and Gaga Mistake Day (co-written with her mother, Susan Straub.) Emma and her husband own Books Are Magic (https://www.booksaremagic.net), an independent bookstore with two locations in Brooklyn, New York.

Nancy Paulsen has been with Penguin Books her entire career, starting as an assistant at Viking Children’s Books, serving as Publisher of Puffin Books and G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, and then starting her eponymous imprint in 2011. She specializes in editing picture books that are eye-opening and full of wonder, and fiction from diverse and distinct voices, especially stories that are inventive and emotionally satisfying. These are the kinds of books that often become classics and appear on state lists, generated by the votes of children. Some of the books she’s edited include National Book Award winner Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson; Coretta Scott King Award Winner Before the Ever After, Printz Honor Book winner Starfish by Lisa Fipps, Caldecott Honor Winner Wonder Walkers by Micha Archer, Pura Belpré Honor winner Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar, South Asia Book Award Winner Thirst by Varsha Bajaj, Walter Award winner The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman. New York Times Bestsellers include Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt; Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed, I Am Every Good Thing by Derrick Barnes and Gordon James and The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson and Rafael Lopez.

Bob and Donna Young are principals of the Young Companies: Bob is President and CEO, while Donna is Chief Operating Officer. High school sweethearts, the Youngs are proud to be third-generation residents of New Rochelle. A graduate of Pace University, Bob completed the US Air Force Pilot Training Program and served in the Air Force and the National Guard. During the Gulf War, Bob flew combat missions supporting Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and earned many awards and distinctions. Bob retired from the military in 1997, with the rank of Major, after 21 years of service and with multiple distinctions including the Air Force Aerial Achievement Medal and two Air Force Air Medals, both for his service during the 1991 Gulf War. Donna graduated from St. John's University and holds a Real Estate Brokers License and Securities Licenses.

In 1989, Bob and Donna formed Castle Rock Construction Corporation, R&D Young Realty Management, LLC and the Young Companies LLC. In their 27 years of developing, building and managing real estate, the Youngs have focused mostly on creating projects that had a rehabilitative and revitalizing impact on the communities where they worked, particularly in their hometown of New Rochelle. The Youngs have been active in non-profit community ventures, notably the Jack Robert Young Memorial Foundation established to honor their son, Jack, whom they lost to meningitis as an infant. The Foundation, in partnership with the City of New Rochelle Parks and Recreation and the Partnership for the Huguenot Children’s Library, sponsored "Jack's Friendship Garden," designed to be one of the few barrier-free playgrounds in Westchester County.

Bob and Donna are the proud parents of three children, Conor, Lily and Jack Robert (deceased). The Youngs are dedicated to their family and their business and most of all they are dedicated to their community.

Chris Selin has been actively involved in the City of New Rochelle since relocating here in 1977, after graduating from St. John’s University School of Law. As president of her Sutton Manor Homeowners’ Association, she organized five homeowners’ associations in the East End of New Rochelle in support of their common interests. During this time Chris completed her Masters in Environmental Law at Pace University Law School, and was also an active member of the New Rochelle Rotary.

In 1994 Chris was elected to the New Rochelle City Council from District 2, serving until her retirement from Council in 2003. In July, 2006, Chris returned to Council to complete the unexpired term of the retiring District 2 Council member. Those almost 12 years on the City Council were enriching and provided Chris with the opportunity to get to know and work with people and diverse groups from throughout the City of New Rochelle.

Chris has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the New Rochelle Public Library Foundation since 2006, and has served as President of the Board since June, 2015. Working with Tom Geoffino and the Library Trustees, Chris also served as Chairman of the Library’s Strategic Plan Committee that created the Library’s 5 year Strategic Plan for the period 2015-2019. Chris also served as a member of the Westchester County Planning Board for three years; a member of the New Rochelle Downtown Business Improvement District from 2003–2017; a New Rochelle Democratic Party District Leader; and Past President and Board member of the Sutton Manor Homeowners’ Association.

Over the years, Chris has been recognized for her work in the community: In 2019 Chris was presented the Community Service Award by the New Rochelle Rotary and in 2017 Chris was honored by the Chamber of Commerce as a Woman of Excellence, receiving the Muriel Zaukas Outstanding Achievement Award. Chris was also recognized with awards from the Huguenot & New Rochelle Historical Association in 2004; Save the Sound in 2003; Congregation Anshe Sholom in 2002; and the New Rochelle Boys and Girls Club in 1995.

Chris resides in Sutton Manor with her husband Jeffrey Endervelt, and feels fortunate to have her son, Brian Demos, daughter-in-law Angela Demos, and the always fun and crazy grandkids, Elena and Sky, living in New Rochelle, just 10 minutes away.

Thomas J. Geoffino has served as Director of the New Rochelle Public Library since 2006. Tom’s tenure has been marked by his commitment to providing welcoming and customer service-oriented services from the NRPL to the diverse New Rochelle community: Under Geoffino’s leadership, NRPL secured over $2 million in library state grants which were used for major improvements and upgrades to both the main branch of the library and the Huguenot Children’s Library. Geoffino successfully led the library through the pandemic by implementing online programs, expanding digital collections, boosting Wi-Fi connectivity in library adjacent outdoor spaces, and creating safe and convenient access to materials through curbside pick up. Additionally, he established partnerships with public health providers to administer vaccines, test kits and masks in the library.

Previously, Tom Geoffino served as Town Librarian for Fairfield Connecticut (1998 - 2006), following service as the Deputy Town Librarian (1994 – 1998) and leadership positions in the Connecticut State Library (1985 – 1994). Tom joined the Rotary Club of New Rochelle in 2007, serving as President of the Club in 2016-2017 and again in 2023-2024; he became a Paul Harris Fellow in 2016 and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2019. Geoffino also served on the board of the New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce (2008 – 2014), was Vice President and President, Westchester Library System, Public Library Directors Association (2008 – 2010), and was a Committee Member for First Night New Rochelle (2007 -2010).

Tom holds a Master of Library Science from Southern Connecticut State University, an MA from Duquesne University, and a BA Cum Laude from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He has two sons, Matthew and Michael.

About the NRPL

The New Rochelle Public Library is a community resource that seeks to improve the life of every citizen in our city. The Library offers a comprehensive print and digital collection that includes retrospective and current materials, up-to-date technology for public use, and a wide range of community services and programs tailored to a diverse audience. Chartered in 1894, NRPL is a school-district library with its own operating budget and a Board of Trustees composed of seven elected members. It has served the 81,500 residents of New Rochelle from its Main Library building in the downtown business district since 1979. A smaller branch, located in the park in front of the New Rochelle High School, was restored through a grassroots effort and currently operates as the Huguenot Children’s Library. Learn more at nrpl.org . Follow us on Facebook, and Instagram @NRPublicLibrary.